Peter Moss

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Peter Moss, a barrister, was convicted on 22 June 2018 at Leeds Combined Court and sentenced to 18 months' custody for being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of income tax (2009-2016) and VAT (2008-2016), totalling £137,000 unpaid tax. The jury found his conduct dishonest. He admitted all four charges (breaches of Core Duties 3 and 5). The Tribunal found criminal dishonesty incompatible with practice at the Bar and, following the Sanctions Guidance starting point, unanimously disbarred him.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty

Aggravating factors:

• Persistent conduct over a lengthy period of time
• Significant amounts (£137,000 unpaid tax over eight years)
• Undermined the profession in the eyes of the public
• Previous disciplinary findings, including 2011 and 2018 findings following drink driving convictions

Mitigating factors:

• Admitted the charges
• Made repayments of VAT (attempt to remedy breaches)
• Considerable number of very good references (good and reliable advocate, popular member of chambers)
• Expressed remorse